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Leadership

Peter Drucker - influential writer and management consultant – said that "management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things." Great leaders possess social intelligence, a passion for change, and a vision that allows them to set their sights on the "things" that truly merit attention. There are leaders at every level of your organization from board to executive to front line staff. These articles and resources are tools to use in building and re-energizing your leaders.

BoardSource

Discounts on membership and board self-assessments
Center members can save 15% on organizational membership or $200 on BoardSource's board self-assessment service. BoardSource members get complimentary access to BoardSource's collection of white papers, webinars, and more. They also get member discounts on their print or digital copies of their books, such as Board Fundamentals: Understanding Roles in Nonprofit Governance and The Source: Twelve Principles of Governance That Power Exceptional Boards.
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Leadership New England Report

Source: Third Sector New England

Third Sector New England surveyed more than 1,200 nonprofit leaders for their new Leadership New England: Essential Shifts for a Thriving Nonprofit Sector report. The report includes useful statistics on issues like leadership transitions, job satisfaction, diversity, and more.

Leading with Intent: A National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices

Source: BoardSource

BoardSource's Leading with Intent: A National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices report uses data from their one-of-a-kind, national survey of both CEO's and board chairs that can help you compare your organization against the national average and identify trends in the sector.

From an Overhead Myth to an Overhead Solution

Source: Overhead Myth

Jacob Harold, President & CEO of GuideStar, recently posted a call to nonprofits on the Overhead Myth campaign's blog. He shares a letter that outlines three steps nonprofits can take to help "solve" the overhead problem as well as a great list of resources to educate both yourself and your funders.

When in Crisis, What Should Boards Do?

Source: Nonprofit Quarterly

In recent weeks and months, there have been a series of crises in organizations ranging from data breaches at Target, Michaels, and Chase to the sexual abuse scandals at Penn State and domestic violence in the NFL. In many of these cases, although the boards of directors were not blamed directly, they often came under fire for not having paid close enough attention to see the crises coming or for reacting too slowly. It is no surprise, then, articles have begun to appear addressing how a board should act before, during and after a crisis.

Five Tips for Building High-Performing Nonprofit Leadership Teams

Source: Bridgespan

Many of us have been members of a leadership team, and if we were lucky, we’ve been on a great one or two. Sadly, most of us recount unsatisfying experiences too. The reasons cluster around a few themes: ineffective leadership, uneven talent, dysfunctional interactions, and lack of alignment or focus. Leading a productive team requires some higher order skills.

The Delegation Dilemma: How Nonprofit Leaders Can Learn to Let Go

Source: Bridgespan

To understand why nonprofit leaders often have a hard time delegating, says Jerry Hauser, CEO of The Management Center, you need to understand the personality traits that got them where they are. Nonprofit leaders, he says, are often incredibly strong individual performers who rose to their positions by being highly talented, deeply committed to their work, and dedicated to very high standards. "They have a really high bar," he notes, "and that adds up to leaders who are often control freaks."

NPO Leaders: Your Absence From Social Media Costs Your Organization

Source: Bloomerang

In a guest post for the Bloomerang blog, Natasha Golinsky of Next Level Nonprofits describes a fruitless search for a nonprofit executive's LinkedIn account, highlights why it's important for nonprofit leaders to have a personal online presence, and shares six tips for anyone not yet using social media.

Bridgespan’s Leadership Development Toolkit

Source: The Bridgespan Group

This toolkit from Bridgespan, and the leadership development guide, videos, and tools within it, are designed to share stories, lessons, and immediately actionable next steps so that you can effectively work with your senior leadership team to develop the next generation of leaders for your organization.

Open Debate Drives Nonprofit Innovation

Source: Chronicle of Philanthropy

In science, technology, business, academe, and elsewhere, people are encouraged—and are given forums—to express opinions and disagree with each other publicly. But nonprofits and foundations continue to embrace a culture of silence and politeness that gets in the way of their growth and vitality. This article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy explores how to regularly call into question whether a nonprofit’s or foundation’s activities are effective, ethical, and strategic.

Building Leadership Capacity: Reframing the Succession Challenge

Source: Bridgestar

This article from Bridgestar proposes that good leadership development and succession planning should resemble a set of six linked processes that build on an organization's underlying human resource function.
Read the article from Bridgestar.

Leading into Discomfort: Social Sector Leadership in the 21st Century

Source: Nonprofit Quarterly

In a time where hot button issues are more the norm than the exception, this article looks at how leaders are thinking about the political moment, and how are they and their organizations responding in terms of taking leadership?
Read the article from Nonprofit Quarterly.

Daring to Lead: The Board Paradox

This third Daring to Lead brief examines the paradoxical nature of board and executive director relationships. Key findings include:

While executive directors tended to give boards relatively high marks when asked about overall performance, their responses to specific questions often contradicted that assessment and suggest that boards are neglecting critical governance responsibilities.

Despite these board performance challenges, most executive directors are not spending a significant percentage of their time working with and supporting their boards.

Executive directors who spend more time working with their boards demonstrate higher satisfcation with board performance.

Making Organizational Learning Stick

Source: Nonprofit Quarterly

All nonprofits can benefit from internal knowledge capture, surfacing and sharing good ideas and practices. Some organizations engage in external sharing across their fields or to advance learning as a whole. Whether your goals are internal, external, or both, here’s how you can put the right combination of technology- and people-powered processes in place to meet them.Read more

Board Self-Assessment Questionnaire

The Board Self-Assessment Questionnaire—available as an online tool—allows nonprofit boards to assess their effectiveness in 12 aspects of governance, ranging from board-staff roles to external relations practices. This tool has been used by hundreds of boards and thousands of board members throughout the US and abroad since 2009.
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Do you conduct an exit interview with departing board members? Consider what you could learn! Get a list of intriguing questions from NonprofitNext

Is Your Board Facing a Critical Juncture?

The Sounding Board is a three-hour strategic management consultation designed to help nonprofit leadership teams clarify, prioritize and examine current challenges and opportunities. The sessions provide a confidential environment in which leaders can explore concerns, test ideas, and gain insight into what to do next.

Call us for more information:603 225-1947

Resources and Education for Your Board!

In the Boardroom is a 2-hour consultation designed to provide nonprofit boards with the training and resources they need to effectively govern a nonprofit in today’s complex environment. This service is provided at a regularly scheduled board meeting or retreat and can cover topics such as: